Today's portable electronic devices, such as smartphones, tablets, or wearable electronic devices, are commonly equipped with camera modules, which contain compatible hardware and software modules that allow the portable electronic devices to take photos and videos. As technologies (e.g., pixel resolutions) associated with these camera modules are getting more advanced, consumers' demands for better image qualities in terms of e.g., clarity, color, distortion, are also getting higher. For example, there are increasing demands for portable electronic devices that can produce high-quality images and provide advanced image-capturing capabilities.
In conventional design, the image-processing functionalities of a portable electronic device are often provided by its main application processor (AP). In other words, the AP and the camera module may be directly connected via control links and data links. As all the image-related operations have to be issued by the AP, and all data generated by the camera module have to be processed by the AP, the overall performance of the portable electronic device, as well as its image-processing capabilities, may be restricted by the AP.
all arranged in accordance to at least one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.